Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Geass or Naruto.
" So, Cornelia was caught in your Geass and Zero took advantage of her vulnerability. "
"Yes." The speaker nodded. "The JLF was eliminated as ordered but I've discovered the pilot of the blue Knightmare is immune to my Geass."
" So either the pilot of the blue Knightmare is C.C. or the boy that escaped the facility. What can you tell me about it and the red Knightmare? "
"Both seem equal to the Lancelot and the Club but the blue one seems to be more powerful, built for all-purpose while the red one was built for speed and agility. The red beam sword seems to be used for both close and long range offense but the main weapon seems to be the silver claw called the Radiant Wave Surger."
" Very well. We've learned much from this operation but we still need more information. I hear Lloyd Asplund is developing a new Knightmare based off the Lancelot but will be made easier for pilots to use. It'll be ready in a few weeks. When it is ready you will take over as the pilot. Until remain hidden until you receive instructions. "
"Understood." The speaker nodded and ended the transmission.
"Bartley." Said man stiffened when he heard his name was called and instantly stood to attention. "Is the subject ready?"
"Y-Yes! He's stable and ready for the operation. " Bartley nodded.
"Good." Bartley's superior nodded with a smooth smile. "And the samples?"
"Ready to be injected." Bartley quickly answered.
"Excellent. I want the procedure to begin as soon as we're ready."
Bartley nodded again as the speaker turned and walked out of the room. When he was gone Bartley let out a shudder and sigh when he was gone. How had he gotten himself into this mess? Now he was participating in a project that would grant the Emperor a power greater than anything in the world but Bartley could not help but wonder if the world would survive if the project was a success.
"Cera, what's bothering you?" Naruto asked as they took a separate route home from Lelouch while Kallen returned to her house. "You've been acting distant and I know you're worried. What is it?"
C.C. looked away. "… I have something personal to take care of."
"Have?" Naruto noticed the wording of her sentence.
"It's personal, Naruto. I don't want you involved." C.C. shook her head.
"Okay, knock it off." Naruto stepped in front of her. "Something's bugging you and you won't tell me? I thought we trusted each other completely."
"It's not an issue of trust it's…" C.C. looked down at the ground. "A mistake I need to fix before you end up in danger."
"What makes you think I'll end up in danger?" Naruto tilted his head. "I'm not afraid."
"It's personal because…" C.C. sighed when she realized Naruto wouldn't let her go without explaining. Why did she fall for this stubborn knucklehead? "It's about someone I made a contract before I met you."
"A previous contractor?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Yes and he's here in the city… looking for me." C.C. stared into Naruto's blue eyes. "And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."
Naruto frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"He's my mistake; I am the one who needs to stop him." C.C. looked out across the city. "I thought I had him until he pulled back for some reason."
"So now what? Can you still see him?" Naruto asked as they stopped in front of the school.
C.C. looked around, her Rinnegan seeing dozens of blue signatures that were inhabitants of the Tokyo Settlement but her eyes settled on a red light in the distance.
"He's out there in the city but he normally hides in the Ghettos. He must be trying to track me." C.C. answered.
"Hm…" Naruto used his Rinnegan to see the red light and knew it was a Geass that was currently active. "And that's a Runaway Geass isn't it?"
"Yes." C.C. nodded.
"That direction… Isn't that where Kallen lives?" Naruto's eyes widened.
Kallen snuck back into her room easily, having done it a dozen times already. The battle tonight had been a disaster with the unexpected of the blue Lancelot looking Knightmare and the new Geass user that froze her and Lelouch in mid-battle. She could only sigh as she accepted that they wouldn't win every battle with Lelouch, Naruto, and C.C. leading the charge. She still had questions but she was slowly… dare she say it getting use to them even if they weren't who she had expected.
Just as she stepped into the middle of her room her senses screamed at her and she spun around to catch a fist aimed at the back of her head. She caught it but she soon enough realized it was a mistake as she felt over a dozen volts of electricity coursing through her which caused her to scream out. She fell over, hitting the floor with a loud grunt.
"My, my, my, what do we have here?"
Kallen looked up and saw the attack was tall with silver hair with a purple visor covering his eyes and earphones on his ears. The visor lifted slightly enough that Kallen could see his eyes.
The blazing red bird like crest of Geass in both of his eyes.
"You're going to help me get my dear C.C. back from that blond bastard." The white haired stranger said, his voice seething with hatred.
"Good job." A dark skinned woman with blue hair and gold eyes stepped out from behind the stranger and smiled darkly down at Kallen. "It seems we've caught our first member of the Black Knights."
By the time Naruto and C.C. reached Kallen's house Mao was seemingly already gone as the red light that was his Geass was moving away too fast for him to be moving on foot so it meant that he was in a car. Naruto jumped through Kallen's window and landed in the middle of the room, dressed his black and grey armor, grey cloak with his mask over his face.
"Damn. We missed them." Naruto growled as C.C. appeared behind him. "I should have given Kallen a kunai when I had the chance."
"Mao won't go far. The sound of a dozen people's thoughts gives him a headache. He'll head to one of the Ghettos." C.C. reasoned.
"Why did he go after Kallen anyways? How'd he know she was connected to us?" Naruto turned and faced C.C.
"He must have heard someone's thoughts, possibly someone in the Black Knights and when he sought her out he read her mind." C.C. mused as she looked around the room.
"He can read minds?" Naruto stopped and looked at C.C.
"He can read the minds of anyone within five hundred meters of himself and it doesn't require eye contact." C.C. answered. "But he lost control of his Geass a long time ago and hasn't been able to turn it off."
"So if he read Kallen's mind then… Shit!" Naruto cursed as he pulled out his cell phone.
Lelouch grunted as he woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He sat up, grumbling as he did so and answered. "Hello?"
Fortunately for whoever is calling is that his mother made sure he never forgot manners, even when he was in a bad mood.
" Lelouch, " Naruto's voice spoke from the other end. " We have a problem. A big problem. "
Kallen groaned as she regained consciousness, feeling like her head was about to split open. She tried to move but her hands were cuffed behind her and she was sitting on a chair with her feet cuffed to the legs. Looking up she was greeted with the sigh of a dark skinned woman with gold eyes, wearing a Britannian military uniform and the man who knocked her out standing next to her.
"You-" Kallen whispered.
"Please, don't get up Kallen Stadtfeld or should I say Kallen Kozuki?" The white haired man asked, smiling as he walked up to her. "Daughter of Duke Stadtfeld and Saya Kozuki, younger sister of Naoto Kozuki who unfortunately was executed by Prince Clovis leading you to join his group which later became the core group of the Black Knights headed by Zero."
Kallen's eyes widened by what the man had said while Villetta narrowed her eyes, wondering how the man figured it out.
"Who-"
"Am I?" The white haired man chuckled and clapped. "Ah, that's right. I forgot. My humble name is Mao and you could say I'm information broker of sorts who makes it a habit to know everything. That being said figuring out who you are was so easy."
"So Miss Stadtfeld," Villetta held out several pictures for Kallen to see. "Do you know these people?"
Kallen's eyes widened when she saw they were pictures of Lelouch, Naruto, and C.C.
"So you do know them." Mao laughed, toying with her. "It's written all over your face as your eyebrows twitched meaning you recognize them and won't say anything about them. Let me guess… One of them is Zero, right?" Kallen stiffened as she tried to hold her breath but that only made Mao's smile widen. "Oh, so one of them is Zero."
"How can you tell?" Villetta asked, glancing at the strange man.
"The way her body stiffened and if you had been paying attention to her eyes you would have noticed that her eyes landed on the black haired boy with violet eyes when I asked her if one of them was Zero meaning that when she looked at the boy she answered my question." Mao answered easily, watching with an arrogant smirk as Kallen paled. "And her reaction is just helping me prove my case."
"So, the boy is Zero." Villetta looked at the picture if Lelouch. "I remember him from Shinjuku with those two Knightmares."
"And that means those two," Mao pointed at Naruto and C.C. "Are the Knightmare pilots."
"It's all circumstantial though. We need evidence to prove your claims." Villetta frowned. "All you have to go with is facial expressions on this girl's face."
"Oh, I forgot." Mao sighed. "Why must everyone else be so incapable?"
Villetta scowled at the insult.
"Oh well, it can't be helped. So then," Mao leaned in close to Kallen. "Tell me, Kallen, do you know why Zero is rebelling against Britannia?"
Kallen gritted her teeth as she tried to scare him with the best glare she had.
"You don't do you? You have no idea!" Mao threw his head back and laughed. "You have no idea why he's fighting Britannia and yet you follow him? Are you sure he's not using you for his own agenda? How can you trust him if he keeps all his secrets hidden? Or what his hidden agendas are?" Mao stopped laughing and looked down at the shocked look on Kallen's face. "He didn't even choose to show his face, his knights made if for him and yet you still follow him. So why would you follow a Britannia and not ask why? Don't you want to know? Or maybe he's managed to trick with his fancy speeches or maybe he even lied about his Geass and he's using it to control you even now!"
Villetta would have said something when Kallen's phone started ringing. The red haired girl gasped as she heard it ring, her mind jumbling as she tried to assure herself that she was not being manipulated like this lunatic implied but she still had a few doubts, even if Lelouch, Naruto, and C.C. had proven themselves a few times already.
What if Mao was right and they were using her?
Where she and the Black Knights pawns to be played with and tossed aside?
Kallen just couldn't come up with an answer and it was getting to her.
"I got it!" Mao picked up the phone and answered in a sing-song tone. "Hello?"
" Mao. " The sound her voice made Mao almost split his face with the smile he made.
"Oh, my beloved C.C. How I long to hear your voice again!" Mao turned away from the two ladies and walked to the other end of the dark room. "How you thought about me at all in our time apart?"
" Where is she? "
"Hm? Oh, you mean your other contractor?" Mao threw a glance at Kallen who stared at his back with a fearful expression. "She's fine. No need to hurt her… yet."
" I am coming for you. "
"Of course you are but are you bringing… him ." Mao spat the last word out like he had swallowed something horrible.
" He's with me and he wants to know if Kallen is all right. "
"Oh, she'll be fine… if he lets me kill him." Mao answered darkly.
" You cannot have him, Mao. He belongs to me, just like how Kallen belongs to me. They are contracted to me. "
"But I am the only one you need!" Mao growled. "Don't you see we are meant to be together?!"
This earned looks from Villetta and Kallen who tried listening to the conversation and wondered what he was talking about.
" You wouldn't fulfil our contract. I had no use for you because you wouldn't give me what I wanted. That matter is now moot though. I am here now and I will not let you take what's precious to me. "
"AM I NOT PRECIOUS TO YOU?!" Mao shouted.
" Goodbye Mao. " C.C. hung up.
"C.C.!" Mao screamed as he threw the phone at the wall, howling as the phone shattered on impact and it's scattered pieces fell across the floor.
"What's going on?" Villetta reached for her gun but Mao spun around and lunged at her, knocking the gun out of her hand and slapping her across the face.
She fell to the ground with a loud cry and Mao hit Villetta across the face again and again until she was knocked out. Kallen leaned back against her chair, becoming afraid from the sudden anger Mao suddenly showed because of whatever C.C. said to him.
"She can't do this to me… She can't do this… CAN'T SHE SEE WE ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER?!" Mao roared, his voice echoing throughout the dark room.
Kallen was trying to break free of her cuffs while Mao was distracted but he turned to her with an angry look on her face. On instinct Kallen activated her Geass, her Absolute Vision allowing her to enhance her senses and hopefully paralyze him.
"Oh no, you can't paralyze me…" Mao chuckled darkly. "You can't make eye contact with me because of these." Mao pointed to his visors. "You won't be getting away that easily."
Kallen thought she was done for when her Geass allowed her to see two purple signatures coming to the entrance of the building they were in. She knew those signatures having long since memorized them from training with her Geass.
Mao stiffened and turned to the door. "She's here… She's here….MY BELOVED C.C.! YOU HAVE COME! I KNEW YOU WOULD!"
He rushed out of the room, leaving Kallen to let out a gasp of air from what she had just experienced.
"Is Lelouch in position?" Naruto asked as they came upon the entrance to the abandoned warehouse where Mao was hiding.
"He is and he's waiting." C.C. nodded.
"Good." Naruto stated. "This is going to be messy."
Just as they stepped in a light shined on them and out of the darkness came a Sutherland with its gun aimed at them.
'How'd he get his hands on a Sutherland?' Naruto thought.
"Oh, C.C.! You are here! Hope you don't mind but I borrowed this from a Britannian warehouse that stores reserve Knightmares just so I could surprise you." Mao's voice laughed through the speakers. "And I see you brought… You! " The Sutherland aimed its rifle at Naruto and fired.
'Shit!' Naruto jumped to side and took off as the Sutherland fired an endless burst of bullets after him.
"HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER FROM ME?! SHE DOESN'T NEED ANYONE BUT ME!" Mao shouted as he kept on shooting. "WE ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER!"
'Sounds like Naruto and C.C. have her distracted.' Lelouch thought when he heard the sound of gunshots from inside the warehouse.
When Naruto called and told him about a Geass user who could read minds and kidnapped Kallen that was enough to make Lelouch forget about getting any sleep for the night. It was especially alarming to hear that the Geass user could read Kallen's mind and potentially expose him so he hastily got dressed and was out the door with Nunnally still asleep while Sayoko remained to keep an eye on his sister. Naruto explained he and C.C. had a plan to distract Mao while he snuck and rescued Kallen and Lelouch agreed, knowing that Mao could read his mind while Naruto and C.C. were immune.
'I should make my move now.' Lelouch thought as he made his way to a door he had found and slipped into the warehouse.
Naruto raced out of the warehouse with Mao hot on his trail, shooting bullets and Slash Harkens at the blond shinobi with complete recklessness.
"STAND STILL! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME! YOU WILL DIE HERE AND C.C. WILL BE ALL MINE!" Mao roared from the Sutherland.
'You stupid little moron. You're lucky we going through an area where no one will be caught up in this.' Naruto thought as he witnessed Mao's complete and utter disregard for everything around him.
Naruto could sense the negative emotions from Mao, complete and utter hatred that was directed at him for his association with C.C. and Naruto wondered if she even told Mao her name but that was pretty unlikely. Naruto stopped as he came to a dead end which came in the form of a knocked over building that cut off his path.
"I HAVE YOU NOW!" Mao laughed as he cornered Naruto and pointed his Sutherland's gun at the shinobi. "I'LL RID THE WORLD OF YOU AND C.C. WILL BE MINE AGAIN!"
"Pathetic." Naruto said coldly as he turned and faced the Sutherland. "You think killing me will make her actually love you? Wow, you really are pathetic. Are you sure I'm finished? If you saw Kallen's mind you should know about my… talents."
"LET'S SEE HOW GOOD THEY ARE AGAINST A GUN TO TH FACE!" Mao pulled the trigger.
CLICK!
"Uh?!" Mao looked at the gun with widened eyes.
"Oh, run out of bullets?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "I was right after all."
"WHAT?!" Mao shouted bewildered.
"I know how much ammo an assault rifle has and I knew if you kept on attacking me it would only be a matter of minutes before you run out."
"YOU!" Mao tried to smash Naruto with his Sutherland's hand but Naruto only held out one hand.
" Shinra Tensei! "
Mao let out a scream as a powerful force slammed into the Sutherland and knocked it down, its right arm shattering from the force of the attack and causing parts to fly in every direction. "WHAT HAPPENED?! YOU NEVER USED THIS POWER BEFORE!"
"So you did see the techniques I showed Kallen when you read her mind." Naruto remarked as he walked forward. "But I didn't show her all the power I wield."
Mao grunted as he tried to stand his Sutherland up. "DAMN YOU!"
"It's also obvious that despite the fact that you read someone's mind on how to pilot a Knightmare you have no experience piloting it because your moves were all sloppy and unfocused." Naruto continued.
"SHUT UP!" Mao roared as he tried to smash Naruto with his Sutherland's left hand but Naruto pulled his sword and swung it, releasing a blast of wind shaped like a blade that cut through the Sutherland's arm easily and watched as it fell to the ground.
"Why don't you come out and face me like a man? You hide from the world, thinking you're so much better than everyone all because of your Geass which you can't control, looking down on them while using your Geass to manipulate them, toying with their fears and using whatever secrets they have without any regards to their well being." Naruto remarked as he took his mask off, a look of disgust on his face. "And worst of all you believe she'll love you for it."
"DON'T SPEAK OF HER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK OF HER! SHE'S MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!" Mao snarled as he opened the cockpit. His visor had been smashed and his earphones and had fallen off with his hair now falling over his face because of the crash. "I AM THE ONLY ONE MEANT TO BE WITH HER!"Mao roared and pulled out an antiquated gun. "YOU STOLE HER FROM ME!"
"Stupid child… You think C.C. would care for someone like you? You think she'd truly love you when she never ever told you her name?" Naruto asked, making Mao freeze in shock.
"She… She told you… That can't be… She never told anyone her name! Never! She never ever… told me her name." Mao gasped.
"But she told me. It's because I granted her wish. I gave her what you and so many people denied her. So long she was treated as a witch while you treated her as a toy that you could never let go. I gave her the gift of knowing she could be loved… as a human being!" Naruto declared.
"You… YOU LIAR! I LOVE HER! ME! ME! ME! AND I KNOW SHE LOVES ME!" Mao pulled the trigger on his antique gun but Naruto simply held out his hand and the bullets froze right in front of him. "What?!"
"Look at you. The mere thought of C.C. actually loving anyone sets you off into a violent rage, like a petulant child being denied his favorite treat. You lied, manipulated, tortured, and killed in her name and for that she left you because she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the sight of you so she left and never thought of you again." Naruto stated coldly as the bullets fell to the ground.
"Damn you… DAMN YOU NARUTO UZUMAKI! WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU THAT SHE WOULD LOVE YOU INSTEAD OF ME?! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Mao roared as he ran to strangle Naruto with his bare hands.
Naruto didn't move and he didn't have to as a dark blur landed in front of him and pulled out a sword, holding it out to Mao's neck as he stopped. His eyes widened as the person took off their mask and hood, revealing her .
"C.C." Mao whispered, staring with joy and awe.
"Hello Mao." C.C. whispered, staring at the man who took off his visors, showing his active Geass.
"Please… Please… Come with me… Take me back… We're meant to be together." Mao whispered, holding his hands out to embrace her.
C.C. closed her eyes and then opened them, revealing her Rinnegan. "No, Mao. We are not. I feel nothing for you except pity for what you've become."
Mao's eyes widened as Naruto copied C.C.'s actions and both pairs of Rinnegan eyes stared at him. He stared into those eyes, the eyes that did not belong on his beloved C.C. He hated those eyes because they did not belong on his C.C. He feared those eyes because they were unnatural.
They were an abomination, they turned his C.C. into something that she was not meant to be, they changed her into a being that he couldn't recognize as the woman that he was meant to be with.
"Is it because… he has those eyes? He brainwashed you! He used them to corrupt you!" Mao cried out as he pointed hatefully at Naruto.
"I looked after you as a child and gave you your gift but I can see now that becoming your world was the undoing of so many others, including yourself. At one time my wish was to leave this world by whatever means necessary but now… I've found something to live for." C.C. glanced at Naruto with a very small smile. "My wish… he changed my wish to something… Something I've never wanted before and something I will never allow you to take from me." She then turned back to Mao. "You cannot have me the way you desire Mao for I never felt that way for you and I cannot. I… I'm sorry but is the path I have chosen."
Mao stepped back, his face twisting with fear and insanity as he let out a loud childish scream and lunged at Naruto. "SHE'S MMMMMMIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE!"
C.C. moved with lightning speed and stabbed her sword through Mao's chest, striking right through his heart. Mao let out a gasp of breath and blood as he stared at the sword and looked up to C.C. with a look of confusion and betrayal as he reached out to touch her face.
"C…..C…." With that final gasp Mao died and his hand that was mere inches from C.C.'s unflinching face fell the side and hung there.
C.C. pulled out her sword and allowed Mao's body to fall over. "I doubt you'll find peace in the Pure Land, Mao but perhaps it'll bring you the silence you couldn't find here. It'll be a long time but by then hopefully you will be changed… like I was."
"He truly couldn't let you go, could he?" Naruto asked, feeling an ounce of pity for for the mad man.
"He didn't grow up with anyone because all everyone else hated him except me, I was his whole world. At the time I didn't care because I thought he'd fulfill my wish and when he became what he was… I knew he wouldn't and so I left him, even though perhaps killing him would have been the humane thing to do. Perhaps I spared him because I pitied him, perhaps I didn't do anything because I had no value on life after living for so long, and perhaps it was both and neither." C.C. whipped the blood of her sword and sheathed it. "I couldn't be with him anymore and so I left and never looked back."
"And he kept on looking for you, ever since." Naruto looked at C.C. "To look for a way to end your curse you kept on giving anyone who caught your eye Geass but they didn't have what it took to evolve to the final level, did they?"
"No. I haven't met anyone strong enough to reach the final level." C.C. looked back at Naruto. "Except for Lelouch possibly and you."
"Except I changed everything just by meeting you." Naruto offered with a smile.
"Yes… you did." C.C. put a hand to Naruto's cheek. "You changed my life, you changed my wish, and you changed me."
She wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
"Don't you think we should bury him first?" Naruto asked, glancing at Mao's corpse. "Or see if Lelouch rescued Kallen?"
"Shut up and just kiss me." C.C. said as she slammed her lips into Naruto's.
"Kallen?" Lelouch called out as he ran into the dark room.
"Lelouch?" Kallen looked up, seeing the boy in his street clothes as he came over the chair she was bound to and worked on undoing her cuffs.
"Are you all?" Lelouch asked.
"Ye-Yeah. I'm fine." Kallen slowly answered. "What's happening? There's this guy, he's got a Geass and I think he can read minds."
"He can. According to Naruto he was one of C.C.'s previous contractor who gained a Geass that could read minds but he went crazy because he lost control." Lelouch explained as he undid Kallen's cuffs, releasing her hands. "He's been looking for her all this time and when he read your mind he must have found out about her."
"The guy's crazy. I think he's going to try and kill Naruto." With her hands free Kallen helped Lelouch undo the bindings on her feet.
"I'm sure they are both fine. Naruto and C.C. are both immune to Geass and they planned to make a distraction so I could get in and rescue you." Lelouch smirked as Kallen stood up. "Bet you never planned on being a damsel in distress."
"Laugh it up, Brit boy." Kallen scowled and as she laughed dryly. "We'll see how much of a damsel in distress I am when I get my hands on that freak."
As they talked Villetta let out a moan as she came back to the conscious world with a very painful headache.
"At the very least we know Mao didn't tell Cornelia or anyone else from the military about Zero and the Black Knights." Villetta stopped as she heard voices nearby.
"Yeah but the mind reading thing he had freaked me out." Kallen responded.
'Mind reading? That man could read minds?' Villetta questioned inside her mind. 'That might explain how he was able to give such a description of the Stadtfeld girl.'
"Understandable, after all the power to paralyze or command people to do anything would be seen as terrifying to anyone who believed such powers existed." Lelouch responded. "There are times even I wonder if I'm dreaming when I use my Geass. However we both know it's real along with Naruto and C.C.'s powers and Mao's Geass. Let's just Naruto and C.C. take of Mao, he's too dangerous to be left running around and I'll have to make sure there were no witnesses left."
Villetta had been listening in as she pretended to be still knocked out and what she was hearing was flabbergasting. The power to command people to do anything, the power to read minds, and the power to paralyze people? It sounded impossible but she now knew it was real and explained so much.
"What about her?" Kallen asked and Villetta realized the question was directed at her.
"We'll hold her until we find out what she knows. If she was holding you captive instead of turning you in it means she didn't have any proof about your connection to the Black Knights or my identity as Zero." Lelouch answered.
'Zero!' Villetta's eyes shot up and as she stood up, reaching for her gun.
However Kallen saw Villetta move and leapt at the older woman, fueled by her anger at being captured Kallen knocked the gun out of Villetta's hand and slammed her knee into the woman's face, knocking back into the wall. Villetta let out a cry as her head came into contact with the wall and she slid over, once again losing consciousness.
"Lights out." Kallen spat at the knocked out woman.
"She's the same woman from Shinjuku." Lelouch realized as he walked over and looked down at woman. "I used my Geass to command her to give me her Knightmare. She must have remembered enough to have suspicions."
"So that's how you got your hand on that Sutherland." Kallen commented, glancing at Lelouch for a second. "What should we do now?"
"Well, we can't kill her until we know for sure that she didn't tell anyone else about us. We'll have to keep her in a place the military won't locate and interrogate her when she wakes up." Lelouch said thoughtfully. "We can't take her to the factory or the mobile HQ as it's too risky. Do you know of any places where we can hold her?"
"A few places and we can ask the others to keep an eye on her." Kallen nodded as she took out her phone.
"Be careful. If you mention she might know who Zero is the others will get suspicious and try to find out." Lelouch quickly pointed out.
"I know. I'll just say she spotted me coming home and tried to attack me." Kallen replied as she dialed Ohgi's number. "As much as I don't want to lie to the others I know that some things should be kept secret… for now."
"Thank you." Lelouch said, knowing that Kallen was uncomfortable for lying to her friends. "I'll go see if Naruto and C.C. have handled Mao."
Just as he turned to the door Kallen suddenly stopped him. "Lelouch?"
"Hm?" Lelouch glanced over his shoulder.
"Thanks… For coming to rescue me." Kallen said, grateful that Lelouch came to save her even though she hated the fact that she had needed to be saved.
"You're welcome, Kallen. We're in this together, don't you forget." Lelouch said as he walked out of the room.
"Right…" Kallen whispered before turning back to her cell phone and hearing Ohgi answer on the other end. "Hey, Ohgi? I need some help…"
When Ohgi heard that his best friend's little sister had been attacked by someone from the military who suspected her of being connected to the Black Knights he rushed over to where she was the instant she told him. She had told him the woman had attempted to interrogate her over Zero's true identity but she broke free and overpowered the woman. She contacted Zero who said to hold the woman somewhere until they learned how much she knew about the Black Knights as it couldn't have been mere coincidence that she suspected Kallen was a member of the Black Knights.
"Are you sure?" Ohgi looked down at the unconscious woman in his arms.
"We can't kill her and not risk someone else knowing what she knows. We need to know what she knows." Kallen said, mirroring what Lelouch said. "What happens if someone goes after you or the others because you're suddenly suspected of working with the Black Knights?"
"Hard to argue with that." Ohgi relented with a sigh and looked at the woman's bruised face.
Kallen really went all out on this poor woman, even if it was in self defense.
"I better go now. I have school tomorrow and I need all the sleep I can get." Kallen sighed. "See ya Ohgi."
"Yeah, see ya." Ohgi nodded as Kallen walked off.
Ohgi looked back down at the girl with a sigh. He really didn't know what he should do other then find a place to hide this woman but he hoped he didn't take any drastic measures to make sure she didn't cause any trouble.
"Zero…"
Ohgi stopped upon hearing the woman whisper the name of the Black Knight's leader. It could mean almost anything but if this woman knew anything about Zero he had to keep her hidden and make sure no one in the military found out. He trusted Zero with his life, after all the man was their one hope in liberating Japan. Of course there was a part of Ohgi that wanted to know what this woman knew about Zero and possibly his two knights. The masked vigilante seemed to know Taizo Kirihara and yet he confessed he was not Japanese which raised a lot of questions in Ohgi's mind.
He shook his head. 'I'm doing this to keep Zero's identity safe and nothing else…' He tried to ignore the voice in his head whispering 'Yeah, right.'
As Kallen made it onto the sidewalk she was greeted with the surprising sight of the three top leaders of the Black Knights. "You guys are still here?"
"Thought you'd need some company." Naruto answered with a smile. "You've had a bit of a long night."
Kallen sighed miserably as she walked with the other three on either side of her. "I'm fine… Just a little upset for being captured and how that freak was able to mess with me."
"It's all right. From what I heard that man was good at sneaking up on people and getting in their heads." Lelouch assured the red head.
"Who was he though? And why did he have a Geass?" Kallen looked at C.C. "Did you give him that?"
"I did many years ago. When I first met him he was an orphan that was hated by everyone who knew him so I took him in and watched over him. When he was yours and Lelouch's age I granted him Geass to fulfill my wish but he had grown to consider me his whole world and wanted me to himself. He used his Geass to torment people who lived nearby, believing them unworthy to walk the same Earth as me. Eventually he lost control of his Geass and I couldn't stay so I left." C.C. explained without a hint of emotion in her voice. "His reasons for kidnapping you, Kallen was to lure me out because he must have read your mind about… me and Naruto and used you as bait because we were close to Lelouch while you generally live by yourself, isolated from the others."
"And because of that the Black Knights were almost exposed." Kallen whispered as she hung her head.
"We dealt with him, Kallen. It's over now." Naruto reassured her.
"Yes. Besides, it's my fault this happened. I didn't believe Mao would find me as I am good at avoiding being found and that put you through all that pain. It wasn't my intention." C.C. stated.
Kallen shook her head. "No, it's my fault for being caught off guard. I didn't think I'd end up being attacked in my own house and that allowed him to get the drop on me."
"You're both wrong." Surprisingly it was Lelouch who spoke up. "The only one at fault here is Mao. It's not your fault, C.C. that he went insane or your fault Kallen that he managed to surprise you."
The others were surprised by Lelouch for a second before Naruto smirked. "Well, it seems our icy cold leader has a heart after all."
Lelouch scowled. "It's the truth and you know it, Naruto."
"Yeah, you're right, for once. Now can we go home now? Its way past bedtime and we got school in the morning, remember?" Naruto waved Lelouch off.
Mao's body had been taken and buried in a forest by Naruto and C.C. when they were done. The final resting place of C.C.'s former contract was an unmarked grave near a waterfall that resembled the one he played in as a child. When all was said and done Naruto and C.C. went back to Ashford Academy once they paid their final respects. As the sun finally rose, shining down on the cliff someone wearing a dark coat stood over the grave and pulled his cell phone out.
"The subject has been located. Returning to base with subject's body."
An hour later Mao's body had been dug up and taken away in a black van to parts unknown.